Coffee Artists Ready for a Caffeine-fueled Throwdown and More

The coffee revolution continues in the Alamo City with the addition of Thursday Night Throwdowns, hosted by Local Coffee and Merit Roasting Co. The first installment goes down Thursday, October 8 from 7 to 11 p.m. Held at Merit (2001 S Presa), the event invites latte artists from all over the city and state for this pour-off with a $5 buy-in to compete and cash awards for first, second and third place winners. Special guest judges for this go-round include Lorenzo Perkins of Cuvee Coffee in Austin, along with coffee writer, consultant and trainer Scott Rao. Go see your fave barista compete and good luck falling asleep after.

This weekend, I hosted a few girlfriends from out of town and we championed through two new brunches. The first at Old Main Assoc. (2512 N Main Ave, 210-562-3440) where we enjoyed fluffy whiskey pancakes topped with caramelized banana, Cap'n Crunch chicken, biscuits with a solid gravy and several micheladas. We hopped on over to Alchemy Kombucha and Culture (1123 N Flores, 210-320-1168), which launched their brunch offering this past weekend to insanely fun results. Expect to find biscuits and gravy, an okra-dotted barbacoa rice bowl, along with wings and tiny beignets with coconut, green curry, scallion and chile arbol. Get the Shamekiller (coconut washed vodka, pineapple OJ gomme and bubbles) to wash away any residual Saturday-night humiliation.

Football season is adding more dining options to our lineup. Chef Drew Morros of Crossroads Kitchen inside Faust Tavern (517 E Woodlawn, 210-257-0628) launched a Monday Wing Night for Monday Night Football from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. I don't partake in pigskin viewing, but I'll stop by because wings are everything. Varieties during the launch included ranch-battered, Cajun, ginger beer and extra hot (the latter two will be staples going forward) priced between $5 and $9.

Pencil in two more events for this October. The Centro Cultural Aztlan (1800 Fredericksburg, 210-432-1895) will host the seventh annual Mole Throwdown on Thursday, October 15 from 6 to 10 p.m. Attendees will get a chance to sample more than 20 varieties of mole cooked by local restaurants, as paired with cold cerveza. Tickets ($40) are available through centrozatlan.org.

Be ready to eat all the baklava your gut desires during the 55th annual Greek FUNstival at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church (2504 N St. Mary's, 210-735-5051) on October 16-18. Stop in for Greek snacks and more available to purchase, an Agora marketplace and authentic entertainment. Get your tickets through stsophiagoc.org/funstival.